


Date with the Vampire

by frozenorange



Category: Preacher (TV)
Genre: First Date, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 14:43:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7467351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenorange/pseuds/frozenorange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“One condition for this date of ours, padre,” Cassidy adds around a mouthful, a sly grin on his face. </p>
<p>Jesse rolls his eyes fondly, humouring the man to continue. “What’s that?”</p>
<p>“We’re not watching The Big Lebowski.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Date with the Vampire

**Author's Note:**

> For the anon who requested: How about a cute 'first date' Jessidy? (With, of course, Jesse knowing and accepting Cassidy's vampirism.)

Cassidy’s lying on one of the church’s pews, chain smoking through a packet he nicked at the brothel. One row in front of him sits Jesse, who’s jotting down notes for the Sunday’s sermon. It’s late afternoon, the sunshine filtering through the high windows giving the church an oddly calm orange tint.

It’s hot, Cassidy is aware of it because over the past half an hour the preacher has lost the collar, unbuttoned the first two buttons of his black shirt and rolled both sleeves up past the elbows. Though now he can’t see much, that view is pretty much why he hasn’t fixed the air conditioning just yet. His eyes follow a drop of sweat that slowly trails from the preacher’s trimmed hair down his neck, disappearing down his collar. The vampire hums as he imagines following that drop with his own tongue, kissing that naked, sweaty neck.

“I’ll tell you what,” Jesse starts, his voice slightly echoing in the empty church, making Cassidy jump and drop his cigarette on the floor.

The vampire bends down to gather the lost cigarette butt before he sets a pew on fire and the whole church with it. “What?”

Jesse steps onto the fuming butt with his left boot, calmly placing the papers down on the seat next to him and turning to look at Cassidy who’s still on the floor. “I’ll make you fix that damn air conditionin’, can’t take it no more.”

“I know, Padre,” Cassidy retorts with the tone of somebody who’s just been chastised. “Like I said, the piece-“ Jesse silences him with a wave of his hand.

“One week, Cassidy, then I’ll force you to.”

Cassidy groans, then lights another cigarette and goes back lying down, Jesse taking his notes again, and it’s all back to how it was just a few minutes before. One writing, the other smoking in comfortable silence for about another hour until Cassidy’s grumbling stomach breaks the silence.

“That’s my cue,” the vampire sighs, sitting up on the pew and stretching his arms. “I’ll go make us some supper, eh padre?” He joyfully adds, standing up from his seat and giving a friendly pat to Jesse’s shoulder.

“There’s some leftover casserole in the fridge,” Jesse announces, not moving from his spot just yet. “Shove that in the oven, for like, ten minutes. I’ll finish here.”

Cassidy nods, whistling some tune as he walks back to the kitchen, leaving a pile of cigarettes butts on the floor.

* * *

“We should go out sometime,” Jesse says casually, between bites of his casserole, like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

Cassidy, on his end, drops his fork on the floor. He doesn’t even pick it up, not right away either, too flabbergasted by what the preacher just said. “Go out? Like, like-“ The vampire goes silent, unable to finish the sentence as he wonders if the preacher just asked him out on a date, or if he’s reading too much into things. Not that he would mind, quite the opposite, actually.

“Like a date, Cassidy,” it’s followed by a huff, Jesse laying his fork down on the plate and looking up at Cassidy, sitting right in front of him. “A date. You. Me. Some nice restaurant.”

Cassidy swallows, because that’s pretty much all he can do right now. While he’s labelled the preacher his best friend since pretty much the first second they met, Cassidy had slowly started to develop feelings for the man a little more every day he spent at the church. “Textbook date? Dinner and movie?” He tries to joke to cover up his excitement. He fails.

Jesse just waits for an answer, looking at him pointedly.

Cassidy’s rule is to not get attached and to not do relationships.

Cassidy is pretty damn great at breaking rules, too.

As a plus, after finding out about his vampirism, Jesse didn’t behave like anyone before. In the past, people would either flee scared or be way too curious for their own good. With Jesse instead? Nothing changed. That was a rare occurrence, too.

“Okay.”

“Okay.” The conversation drifts into silence, the scraping of cutlery against plates filling the room once more. Jesse tries to hide a smile, but fails.

“One condition for this date of ours, padre,” Cassidy adds around a mouthful, a sly grin on his face.

Jesse rolls his eyes fondly, humouring the man to continue. “What’s that?”

“We’re not watching The Big Lebowski.”

* * *

 

In the end, they ditch the restaurant in favour of some nicely home cooked meal. They couldn’t seem to find any restaurant that lived up to their expectations, and while a pub was exactly what both wanted, they knew that having a date at the pub would mean just getting wasted together, something they could do any day in the comfort of one All Saints Church. This night, they both wanted it to be different, so Jesse agreed to cook for the both of them.

To be his own home and his own kitchen, Jesse is slightly overdressed. He’s wearing black trousers paired with a white shirt and a black, skinny tie. The jacket’s been replaced with an old tattered apron that matches the floral mittens he’s using to pull the lasagna out of the oven.

“Smells delicious,” Cassidy prompts as he enters the kitchen. He doesn’t go past the threshold, hands stuffed in the pockets of his light blue jeans. For once, his clothes don’t seem to come from the charity pile. He’s wearing a black graphic shirt under a green tartan shirt that’s left unbuttoned, sleeves neatly cuffed hiding most of the vampire’s tattoos.

Jesse doesn’t turn around immediately, too busy taking the lasagna out of the oven. “I tried,” Jesse admits, placing the tray on top of a pot mat. The food is steaming hot and looks cooked to perfection, the delicious smell making Cassidy’s stomach grunt.

“There’s lasagna and some chicken with roasted potatoes,” Jesse explains, turning around to face his date. When he realises that Cassidy has been standing in the doorway, he gestures towards the table. “Take a seat,” he invites, feeling slightly awkward that he had to even mention it, considering Cassidy had been living in the place just as if it was his own for the past months.

Cassidy does as he’s told, sitting at his usual spot. The table setting this time is way different. There’s bamboo table mats with black dishware, shiny cutlery and two glasses, one for water and the other clearly for the bottle of Pinot noir that towers in the middle of the table. “Can I help?”

Jesse waves one mitten, grabbing the tray with his right hand and carrying it over to the table, the floral mittens earning a chuckle from Cassidy. “I like the outfit, Padre.”

“Oh, shut up,” the preacher rolls his eyes fondly as he dishes out two portions of the food. And if his cheeks tinge with a little red, it’s all the steam’s fault.

Cassidy rubs his hands together, his tongue darting out to run over dry lips, already imagining how divine the food will taste. He thanks the preacher as his dish is filled, waits for the man to place a portion on his own plate, watches as Jesse takes mittens and aprons off and sits silently through the dinner prayer. An awkward silence dominates the room after the prayer is said, and is broken only when Cassidy’s curse resonates into the room. As he went to chew on his first lasagna bite he discovered, to both his and Jesse’s horror that the inside was still mostly frozen.

“Shit, Cass, I’m so sorry,” Jesse promptly apologises, jumping up from his seat as he realises what happened. He must have kept the lasagna in the oven too little time, or not set the oven to the right temperature. Blushing a dark shade of red up to the point of his ears, the preacher grabs the tray with his hand, completely disregarding the mitten and the fact that the tray is still piping hot from the oven. He curses, hands throbbing and turning red enough to match his face as he lets out a stream of curses that would make a sailor blush. And because catastrophes always happen in sets of three, by dropping the tray he makes the whole table shake, the pitcher full of water tumbling down just the right angle to shower Cassidy in cold, icy water.

Jesse is ready for the floor to open underneath him and be swallowed whole, but God isn’t that merciful and he has to live through the disaster. “Cass, I’m so sorry.”

Cassidy instead, is simply amused. The vampire stands up slowly, chuckling as he walks over to the kitchen drawer where he’s learnt the dish cloths are, and proceeds to dab himself dry. “Don’t worry man, I don’t really need to eat anyways.”

It’s clearly meant to comfort the poor preacher, but Jesse just groans at that, looking at Cassidy apologetically. “Shite. Blood, of course. I could have-“

Cassidy rolls his eyes, already done with all this bullshit and does the only thing he can think of to silence the preacher. He covers the small distance that separates them, grabs the man’s chin and pulls him in for a kiss. The kiss is far from perfect, Jesse was caught mid-sentence so his teeth scraped against Cassidy’s lips, it’s sloppy and needy, because as soon as the initial shock is over, Jesse is kissing back with all his might, one hand cupping the vampire’s neck and the other on his waist, keeping Cassidy close.

“You put that back in the oven,” Cassidy instructs as he pulls back. His eyes staring right through Jesse’s making the preacher feel like the vampire’s seeing right through his soul. “You put that back, I go get changed. Then we open this wine and we wait for the food to be all nice an’ done.”

Jesse nods, pulling back from the man. His trousers are damp from pressing against Cassidy’s wet ones, but he doesn’t really mind. “Be quick then, or there’ll be no wine for ya,” he jokes, slipping both mittens on his hands again.

As Cassidy leaves the room, Jesse starts to fix his own mess. He turns on the oven again, places the lasagna inside, grateful that it’s still warm from before. He fills up the pitcher again with more water and more ice, empties their plates in the bin and dries up the mess with an extraordinary amount of kitchen towels. When Cassidy comes back, wearing some less date-appropriate grey sweatpants, the kitchen is all nice and dry, lasagna still in the oven.

“Alright, let’s try this again,” Cassidy’s voice sounds amused, not mocking and Jesse’s ego is grateful for that. “Smells delicious,” he recites his line from before, a smug smile on his lips.

It’s enough to make Jesse laugh. “Cut the crap, will ya? Get seated, I’ve opened the wine.”

The vampire moves to the table once more, the scene unfolding pretty much like it had before the lasagna fiasco, with him sitting at the table and taking in the bottle sitting right between him and Jesse. Their glasses are already full, and it’s a nice change from passing whiskey bottles back and forth in the pew. “This is a nice change of scenery,” Cassidy muses, finger running idly around the edge of his glass. “I mean, look at us. We’ve gone a long way from cheap booze in the church to fine wine at a table. Makes me feel all like,” Cassidy pauses, eyes tilted upwards as he tries to think of the word.

“Sophisticated?” Jesse suggests, sipping his own wine, eyes focusing on his date rather than his wine.

“Yeah, that.”

“And uh, are you happy it’s wine or should I have gone for somethin’ more, well. Peculiar,” Jesse doesn’t say it. Because saying it would be awkward and possibly even ignorant, but the question lingers in the air. Despite everything, they had never really discussed Cassidy’s vampirism.

Cassidy doesn’t laugh nor gets offended, which are pretty much the only two options Jesse had considered right after asking that question, he just sets the glass down and explains. “A cooked meal is just fine. Blood helps me heal, really. That’s pretty much it.”

“So you don’t crave it?”

The vampire shrugs, reaching in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. If they’re not eating nor fucking yet, might as well keep their mouth busy. He picks one for himself, placing it between his lips and holds the packet out for Jesse to take one. The preacher does.

“I mean, it’s nice. The longer I go without, the harder is to resist the urge,” he knows it’s not enough. While it’s as clear as day that he has killed in the past and will kill in the future to feed off humans, it’s another thing to actually admit it. To a pastor, nonetheless. “I feed off criminals, padre. Scum of this society, I rid the world of it. Yer bloody welcome.”

Jesse feels like he should warn Cassidy off feeding from the congregation, but then again he’s made it clear before. “And what about animal blood?”

“It’s a bit like, ya know, eating fat free bacon. It’s still bacon, but doesn’t taste quite right.”

Surprisingly, the analogy is enough and Jesse doesn’t ask anything else. “I’ll tell you what,” the preacher changes subject, grabbing his glass and kicking off his shoes under the table. “Why don’t we move this to the lounge? Sittin’ at a table is too formal if there’s no meal involved.”

“Sure thing. How ‘bout a movie?” Cassidy suggests as he grabs his own glass and the bottle. He’s no wearing shoes to begin with, so he follows after the preacher into the lounge.

“Lebowsky?” Jesse suggest cockily, an inside joke between them.

Cassidy rolls his eyes, “Oh, bugger off, mate.”

* * *

 

They settle on the last Mission Impossible movie, because it’s already on TV, and even if it’s started, it’s not like either of them mind. It’s probably the only one they can agree on, so it’ll have to do. Halfway through the movie Cassidy slid down from the couch to the floor, allowing Jesse to sprawl out on the couch comfortably. They share a bowl of crisps that were just about to go stale and talk throughout the movie about a lot of things that mean nothing. Jesse’s childhood, his role as a preacher, Cassidy’s most recent activities and his childhood in Ireland. They don’t talk about Jesse’s past, nor how Cassidy became a vampire. Neither of those are topics to be talked about during a first date.

“Well, shite,” Jesse hums, sitting up from the sofa as the action is now over and the movie idly drifts to its end. “That a good one.”

“Yeah, definitely better than that Lebowski one of yours,” Cassidy snorts, stretching his legs on the floor. “See, Padre? Lasagna or not this date was good, was it not?”

Jesse suddenly turns as pale as his shirt. Ignoring Cassidy, he turns around towards the kitchen’s door, the cloud of smoke confirming his suspicion. “Fuck.” He leaps from his seat and rushes to the kitchen just as the fire alarm goes off. He’s careful to grab the mittens this time and opens the oven only to have more smoke fill the room. Cassidy grabs a cloth and starts swatting the smoke away with it, all while trying not to laugh at how amusing the whole situation is.

“Cass?” Jesse sighs, defeated. “Get the phone, we’ll get Chinese.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, come send me prompts on [my Tumblr](http://jesseccuster.tumblr.com).


End file.
